Michael Woolham, animal manager at Banham Zoo, said: "When we get temperatures like this the animals will naturally seek out shade and conserve their energy. They probably have more sense than many people: you don't see many sunburnt animals!"

Mr Woolham said the most commonly asked question in hot weather is how do the penguins cope? "There are only three penguin species that come from the Antarctic, all the others come from tropical climates," he explains.

"Our penguins come from Africa, so this is just normal for them. That goes for a lot of our animals. Meercats are used to these temperatures, Grevy's zebra come from Kenya, and giraffes are adapted for it.

Meanwhile Banham's sea lions are given fish frozen into ice blocks. "You do have to be careful giving frozen food to animals, it is not good to feed them large quantities, but for an animal like a sea lion to get three or four sprats frozen isn't harmful," said Mr Woolham.

The animals he most worries about are his team of keepers.

He said: "They are working outside all day and it does take it toll. The animals can sit in the shade and chill out. They don't have clean an enclosure or do any mowing or strimming!"